Hi.
I have a storytelling question for you (and for me) !
BUT BEFORE YOU REPLY TO THE POLL, FIRST, we need to contextualize the question : Did you know that in One Piece, there are hidden character arcs ?
By that I mean character arcs and stories that are not obvious on the first reading of One Piece or sometime not even on the second or third. Those are stories that are present, but you will need to pay a CLOSE attention to the little details and have a very analytic brain linked with your empathy to understand them.
Little breakdown of one of the structures of Storytelling : Le levels of narration :
In stories, there are multiple level of narration.
- First there is the surface level : the development of situations and events. This what the character will go through on a surface level.
- Then, there is the level -1 : The character arc of the protagonist. This will be the internal development the character will have to go through in the story. Its usually done in a matter that is obvious enough for everyone to understand the rise of conflict and the climax of potential developments and choices of the character.
- Then, there is the level -2 : The outline of the story. You could say that it is the backbone of the entire story. This is something that you can only grasp once the story is over. This is will be the backbone of the story. This is what you will remember most likely the most. This is the sum up of all the important development and character arcs. This is the global image of the story.
- Then, there is the level -3 : The symbolism of the story. This is usually the final level. Its the level that contains all the strong messages and symbolisms and all the deeper values of the story. Its a level that you can only understand fully by rereading and analysing the story. Some stuff will appear as obvious on the first read, but not everything.
- But in One Piece, there is an even deeper level : The hidden character arcs/stories. This is one of the reason why I consider One Piece as a masterpiece. There is a reason why I'm putting those on the last level and not on the -3. Its because those stories are sometimes much more difficult to understand and notice that the symbolisms in the story. Some of the time, they can be more obvious, especially in the example I will give you, but for the majority because of the fact that One Piece is a big epic poem, they need a deep understanding of each characters. I'm talking about specific stories and evolutions of character beneath the structure of the clear narration that are foudamental to really understand the deepness and the choices of Oda.
Its really difficult to distinguish them from the main character arc development because those two level are linked together. The only difference here is the subtility in the way the evolution and characterization of character takes place.
Let me give you a very simple example :
In whole cake, a few things happened concerning the story of Sanji:
- In term of development : Sanji went to Big Mom to "talk with his father" and stop the wedding. He met his brother, he met his father, fought with him, failed, got blackmailed, got beaten, insulted rejected and fought Luffy, choosed to stay with Pudding, got betrayed, cooked food, delivered food to Luffy, invented excuses, cried, explained to Luffy that he wanted to come back on the Sunny and save his family, got Luffy's help, formed an alliance with Bege, attended the wedding, complimented Pudding, escaped death, delivered his family, told to his biological dad that he doesn't want to be associated with him, run away, choosed to stay with Pudding to make a cake for Big Mom, cooked a cake, saved brulee, argued with Bege about not poisoning the cake, delivered the caked, made Big Mom happy, waited for Luffy, saved Luffy, mourned Pedro's death, proposed to cook a meal for the crew.
- In term of character arc : Sanji felt threatenned by the power of Big Mom and because he didn't want to feel like a burden, so he choosed to go alone. The meeting with his past family brought back in him a lot of very unpleasant memories and anger. It also placed Sanji once again in the position of the boy who is being bullied and just like when he was a kid, Sanji found himself threatenned from everywhere and locked out with the impossibility of hope. He tried to overcome this situation by fighting his father, but the inhumanity of his father (with his clones) literally broke his fighting spirit. In order to protect his friends from the power of Big Mom, Sanji choosed to be as mean as possible with Luffy, rejected him and fought him thinking that it would be enough to make them go away, but sanji underestimated the will of his captain and the love he had for him. Falling harder and harder into despair, Sanji tried to hold on to his marriage with Pudding but got completely destroyed. Sanji had to tank all the worst saying about him being a "failure", "loser" etc. In complete hopelessness, Sanj went back to the food he thought he made for Pudding, but in reality, he cooked for all the strawhats. This reminded him of what really counts for him : his Captain, his last light of hope. With Luffy, Sanji tried to makes excuse in order to avoid facing the truth and his real desire and hopelessness, this is where he told Luffy that he wanted to come back to the Sunny, his family. This was Sanji breaking down and accepting to open himself on his vulnerability. All his life, Sanji was treated has a failure for not wanting to fight, or because he was nice to people and animals or because he was a cook. This moment is where Luffy tells him that he is not a failure for being who he really is (the "that's who you are" moment), being a nice and kind person. Sanji, finally accepted and with hope decided to trick Big Mom but ended up being himself, meaning a nice person, with Pudding. After realizing that he wouldn't be safe no matter what and after trusting his crew, Sanji is now free and after liberating his family, Sanji finally locked his father away by telling him that he does not want to be associated with him. Knowing that Big Mom would threatenned the entire archipalego and instead of running away, Sanji choosed to stay with Pudding to prepare a delicious cake for Big Mom. Sanji prepared the cake with the most care possible, showing once again his best side to pudding, and in the same way, refused to poison the cake. Sanji finally came in turn with his journey by saving Luffy and telling Pudding how glad he was to have met her. The arc finishes on Sanji mourning Pedro, once again falling into his self harming thoughts, but is stopped quickly by Carrot who tells him that he wanted simply to repay a favor, on which she starts to cry but Sanji stops her, showing that he grew up and his stating a similar sentence to the "that's who you are" by saying to Carrot "I know what kind of man he was". The grief passes and Sanji finally proposes a meal during which we understand that Sanji finally came into contact to his real self, his real self being the result of the education of his real father : Zeff.
- In term of outline : This one is quite simple. The story of Sanji is separated in four big parts with a big middle point that his the punch of Luffy: The descent into darkness (this is where Sanji starts to understand just who complicated his situation really is), the loss of hope (this is where Sanji will lose his light of hope one by one, the last one being Pudding), the restauration of the hope and realization (this is where Sanji realize that he needs Luffy, this is where he accepts to shows his vulnerability, this is where he starts to accept who he really is) and the achievement of progress (this is where Sanji uses his real self has a way to improve his environment). The first part is pictured by the arrival of Sanji and the discovering of the castle and clones, the second by the fight against Luffy and the betrayal of Pudding, the third is pictured by the scene with Luffy and the disucssion with his dad and the last is pictured by the creation of the cake. The final image (Sanji/Zeff) being the finalization of the entire character arc.
- In term of symbolism : There is a LOOOOOT to say about whole cake, but since i've made a literal novel just above I'll keep that point very short. What we need to understand is that everything in the story of whole cake (i'M TALKING HERE SIMPLY ABOUT THE SANJI STORY° is revolving around a few key notions: The relationship between parent and child, the notion of truth and self truth, the notion of food and vitality and the importance of kindness. For each of those notion, Oda developped multiple argument (in the forms - for ex - of good forms of relationships / Sanji and Zeff, Sanji and Luffy, his captain) and counter arguments (in the forms - for ex - of bad forms of relationships, Big Mom and Pudding, Sanji and Zeff etc.). All notions are repeated through the process we call "milking" in the narration, the designs and characterization of the characters to create a form of reasonnance of each one of those notions and make the story of Sanji shine even more.
- For the hidden character arc and story : The arc of Sanji stands on two very specific character development. (there might be more)
> The most obvious one is the fact that Sanji, through the whole cake arc, do not only learn to discover who he really is, but he also learn how to ask for help and be vulnerable in front of danger. This is something that Oda hinted very early, mainly through the representation of his gallantry with women. remember, sanji did not asked for help against Kalifah, he simply let himself get beaten up. it was a strike of luck that nami was able to help. Same thing, when Bege came with an invite, Sanji refused to include his crew or Luffy. And again, during the arc, just like Nami and Robin, Sanji refused to seek for help and rejected the help and presence of Luffy because of the fear of seeing himself like a failure (making the excuse that it was to protect him, but in reality, it was simple Sanji lacking the capacity to ask for help). Sanji had to be lead into complete despair to finally shows his vulnerability and accept the help of his friend. And he remembered the lesson ! This is why you could see Sanji ask Robin for help without problems and without the fear of feeling like a losers or a failure.
> The second is the fact that Sanji tends to quit quickly and lose hope without return. This is - again - something that was prepared from way back. You can see that in the beginning of the story, Sanji questions quickly the dream of Zoro. This is a reccuring thematic of the barratie arcs. The reason for that is that Sanji tried so hard to make up for Zeff, that he lost his will to follow his own dream and never tried to get it back. SO when he saw Zoro and Luffy holding on strongly to those dreams, Sanji was pissed off. Quiting is something that he has done all his life but to follow Luffy, he had to make a descision. and in whole cake, Sanji faced the worst strike of despair ever. He therefore had to find the strenght for himself not to quit and find his hope back in Luffy
As you can see, those development were not obvious in the story, they were quite hidden under a lot of layers, but with a bit of digging, its possible to learn a lot of very different things.
(there are a few other character developments related for example to kindness, but I won't extend myself to much here).
Here, those were quite easy to understand, but sometimes, its a little bit more complicated. That's why I invite you to seek for those more hidden character arc and development in the story. I can help you by sharing with you this channel (Melonteee) who is specialized in understanding those hidden storytelines and hidden characteristics. Here are two good videos about Zoro and Sanji that I recommend you to watch strongly :
You can also check this post (not by me) about the story of Bellamy :
You can also keep in touch with my content on this forum, I like to deconstruct the hidden storylines of characters from time to time (mostly about Carrot)
---
NOW THAT WE HAVE THE CONTEXT .... HERE COMES THE QUESTION :
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE HIDDEN STORIES ?
- Do you like the fact that they are hidden under a lot of layers ? Do you think that this is one of the strenght of One Piece ?
or
- Do you think that they should be more obvious ? Maybe with more concrete evidences in the story ?
I have a storytelling question for you (and for me) !
BUT BEFORE YOU REPLY TO THE POLL, FIRST, we need to contextualize the question : Did you know that in One Piece, there are hidden character arcs ?
By that I mean character arcs and stories that are not obvious on the first reading of One Piece or sometime not even on the second or third. Those are stories that are present, but you will need to pay a CLOSE attention to the little details and have a very analytic brain linked with your empathy to understand them.
Little breakdown of one of the structures of Storytelling : Le levels of narration :
In stories, there are multiple level of narration.
- First there is the surface level : the development of situations and events. This what the character will go through on a surface level.
- Then, there is the level -1 : The character arc of the protagonist. This will be the internal development the character will have to go through in the story. Its usually done in a matter that is obvious enough for everyone to understand the rise of conflict and the climax of potential developments and choices of the character.
- Then, there is the level -2 : The outline of the story. You could say that it is the backbone of the entire story. This is something that you can only grasp once the story is over. This is will be the backbone of the story. This is what you will remember most likely the most. This is the sum up of all the important development and character arcs. This is the global image of the story.
- Then, there is the level -3 : The symbolism of the story. This is usually the final level. Its the level that contains all the strong messages and symbolisms and all the deeper values of the story. Its a level that you can only understand fully by rereading and analysing the story. Some stuff will appear as obvious on the first read, but not everything.
- But in One Piece, there is an even deeper level : The hidden character arcs/stories. This is one of the reason why I consider One Piece as a masterpiece. There is a reason why I'm putting those on the last level and not on the -3. Its because those stories are sometimes much more difficult to understand and notice that the symbolisms in the story. Some of the time, they can be more obvious, especially in the example I will give you, but for the majority because of the fact that One Piece is a big epic poem, they need a deep understanding of each characters. I'm talking about specific stories and evolutions of character beneath the structure of the clear narration that are foudamental to really understand the deepness and the choices of Oda.
Its really difficult to distinguish them from the main character arc development because those two level are linked together. The only difference here is the subtility in the way the evolution and characterization of character takes place.
Let me give you a very simple example :
In whole cake, a few things happened concerning the story of Sanji:
- In term of development : Sanji went to Big Mom to "talk with his father" and stop the wedding. He met his brother, he met his father, fought with him, failed, got blackmailed, got beaten, insulted rejected and fought Luffy, choosed to stay with Pudding, got betrayed, cooked food, delivered food to Luffy, invented excuses, cried, explained to Luffy that he wanted to come back on the Sunny and save his family, got Luffy's help, formed an alliance with Bege, attended the wedding, complimented Pudding, escaped death, delivered his family, told to his biological dad that he doesn't want to be associated with him, run away, choosed to stay with Pudding to make a cake for Big Mom, cooked a cake, saved brulee, argued with Bege about not poisoning the cake, delivered the caked, made Big Mom happy, waited for Luffy, saved Luffy, mourned Pedro's death, proposed to cook a meal for the crew.
- In term of character arc : Sanji felt threatenned by the power of Big Mom and because he didn't want to feel like a burden, so he choosed to go alone. The meeting with his past family brought back in him a lot of very unpleasant memories and anger. It also placed Sanji once again in the position of the boy who is being bullied and just like when he was a kid, Sanji found himself threatenned from everywhere and locked out with the impossibility of hope. He tried to overcome this situation by fighting his father, but the inhumanity of his father (with his clones) literally broke his fighting spirit. In order to protect his friends from the power of Big Mom, Sanji choosed to be as mean as possible with Luffy, rejected him and fought him thinking that it would be enough to make them go away, but sanji underestimated the will of his captain and the love he had for him. Falling harder and harder into despair, Sanji tried to hold on to his marriage with Pudding but got completely destroyed. Sanji had to tank all the worst saying about him being a "failure", "loser" etc. In complete hopelessness, Sanj went back to the food he thought he made for Pudding, but in reality, he cooked for all the strawhats. This reminded him of what really counts for him : his Captain, his last light of hope. With Luffy, Sanji tried to makes excuse in order to avoid facing the truth and his real desire and hopelessness, this is where he told Luffy that he wanted to come back to the Sunny, his family. This was Sanji breaking down and accepting to open himself on his vulnerability. All his life, Sanji was treated has a failure for not wanting to fight, or because he was nice to people and animals or because he was a cook. This moment is where Luffy tells him that he is not a failure for being who he really is (the "that's who you are" moment), being a nice and kind person. Sanji, finally accepted and with hope decided to trick Big Mom but ended up being himself, meaning a nice person, with Pudding. After realizing that he wouldn't be safe no matter what and after trusting his crew, Sanji is now free and after liberating his family, Sanji finally locked his father away by telling him that he does not want to be associated with him. Knowing that Big Mom would threatenned the entire archipalego and instead of running away, Sanji choosed to stay with Pudding to prepare a delicious cake for Big Mom. Sanji prepared the cake with the most care possible, showing once again his best side to pudding, and in the same way, refused to poison the cake. Sanji finally came in turn with his journey by saving Luffy and telling Pudding how glad he was to have met her. The arc finishes on Sanji mourning Pedro, once again falling into his self harming thoughts, but is stopped quickly by Carrot who tells him that he wanted simply to repay a favor, on which she starts to cry but Sanji stops her, showing that he grew up and his stating a similar sentence to the "that's who you are" by saying to Carrot "I know what kind of man he was". The grief passes and Sanji finally proposes a meal during which we understand that Sanji finally came into contact to his real self, his real self being the result of the education of his real father : Zeff.
- In term of outline : This one is quite simple. The story of Sanji is separated in four big parts with a big middle point that his the punch of Luffy: The descent into darkness (this is where Sanji starts to understand just who complicated his situation really is), the loss of hope (this is where Sanji will lose his light of hope one by one, the last one being Pudding), the restauration of the hope and realization (this is where Sanji realize that he needs Luffy, this is where he accepts to shows his vulnerability, this is where he starts to accept who he really is) and the achievement of progress (this is where Sanji uses his real self has a way to improve his environment). The first part is pictured by the arrival of Sanji and the discovering of the castle and clones, the second by the fight against Luffy and the betrayal of Pudding, the third is pictured by the scene with Luffy and the disucssion with his dad and the last is pictured by the creation of the cake. The final image (Sanji/Zeff) being the finalization of the entire character arc.
- In term of symbolism : There is a LOOOOOT to say about whole cake, but since i've made a literal novel just above I'll keep that point very short. What we need to understand is that everything in the story of whole cake (i'M TALKING HERE SIMPLY ABOUT THE SANJI STORY° is revolving around a few key notions: The relationship between parent and child, the notion of truth and self truth, the notion of food and vitality and the importance of kindness. For each of those notion, Oda developped multiple argument (in the forms - for ex - of good forms of relationships / Sanji and Zeff, Sanji and Luffy, his captain) and counter arguments (in the forms - for ex - of bad forms of relationships, Big Mom and Pudding, Sanji and Zeff etc.). All notions are repeated through the process we call "milking" in the narration, the designs and characterization of the characters to create a form of reasonnance of each one of those notions and make the story of Sanji shine even more.
- For the hidden character arc and story : The arc of Sanji stands on two very specific character development. (there might be more)
> The most obvious one is the fact that Sanji, through the whole cake arc, do not only learn to discover who he really is, but he also learn how to ask for help and be vulnerable in front of danger. This is something that Oda hinted very early, mainly through the representation of his gallantry with women. remember, sanji did not asked for help against Kalifah, he simply let himself get beaten up. it was a strike of luck that nami was able to help. Same thing, when Bege came with an invite, Sanji refused to include his crew or Luffy. And again, during the arc, just like Nami and Robin, Sanji refused to seek for help and rejected the help and presence of Luffy because of the fear of seeing himself like a failure (making the excuse that it was to protect him, but in reality, it was simple Sanji lacking the capacity to ask for help). Sanji had to be lead into complete despair to finally shows his vulnerability and accept the help of his friend. And he remembered the lesson ! This is why you could see Sanji ask Robin for help without problems and without the fear of feeling like a losers or a failure.
> The second is the fact that Sanji tends to quit quickly and lose hope without return. This is - again - something that was prepared from way back. You can see that in the beginning of the story, Sanji questions quickly the dream of Zoro. This is a reccuring thematic of the barratie arcs. The reason for that is that Sanji tried so hard to make up for Zeff, that he lost his will to follow his own dream and never tried to get it back. SO when he saw Zoro and Luffy holding on strongly to those dreams, Sanji was pissed off. Quiting is something that he has done all his life but to follow Luffy, he had to make a descision. and in whole cake, Sanji faced the worst strike of despair ever. He therefore had to find the strenght for himself not to quit and find his hope back in Luffy
As you can see, those development were not obvious in the story, they were quite hidden under a lot of layers, but with a bit of digging, its possible to learn a lot of very different things.
(there are a few other character developments related for example to kindness, but I won't extend myself to much here).
Here, those were quite easy to understand, but sometimes, its a little bit more complicated. That's why I invite you to seek for those more hidden character arc and development in the story. I can help you by sharing with you this channel (Melonteee) who is specialized in understanding those hidden storytelines and hidden characteristics. Here are two good videos about Zoro and Sanji that I recommend you to watch strongly :
You can also check this post (not by me) about the story of Bellamy :
You can also keep in touch with my content on this forum, I like to deconstruct the hidden storylines of characters from time to time (mostly about Carrot)
---
NOW THAT WE HAVE THE CONTEXT .... HERE COMES THE QUESTION :
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE HIDDEN STORIES ?
- Do you like the fact that they are hidden under a lot of layers ? Do you think that this is one of the strenght of One Piece ?
or
- Do you think that they should be more obvious ? Maybe with more concrete evidences in the story ?
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